Serenity Bliss, A RWBY OC Story
by Ubersmex
Summary: Serenity Bliss is a girl who was born in Vacuo. After a sudden awakening of her semblance, she is forced onto a path of life that she could have never imagined. A long stretching story that avoids the silver eyes meta and pursues the use of other far fetched means of creating an overpowered female lead. Beware of canon breaks, and misinformation about the atmosphere of Remnant.
1. Serenity Bliss, Chapter One

Serenity Bliss

Chapter 1: Life  
The noise in the Vacuo markets was the first thing anyone heard as the sun rose. Their homes too primitive to keep any voice unheard, and there was no exception for the small families outside of the city. One such family was the Bliss', a poor family who despite only scraping by, persevered to uphold their legacy of keeping high spirits in the face of adversity. The family only consisted of 3, a man named Remedy, his wife, Clarity, and their young daughter, Serenity. The family were dressed appropriately for their situation, nothing overly fine or gaudy, apart from some heirloom jewelry that they refused to part with. For the poorer families, life was hard. As most money was earned through trade, those who couldn't afford to be merchants had to clutch at straws to find jobs as cleaners, or builders. The Bliss family were brought on as servants in a tavern near the markets: The Greedy Vulture. The pay was minimal, and the owners paid some of their wages in food, while allowing their daughter to remain in the taverns kitchens during work hours. This appeared to be a blessing at first, but eventually had them trapped under the owner's thumb, the lack of real currency bore down upon Remedy's aspirations of becoming a merchant, and left them completely dependent on the owner to the point where they moved into the tavern before long just to afford Serenity a better life.  
By age 14 Serenity was working as the chef's assistant in the taverns kitchens, the place as familiar to her as her family's ragged smiles. The Chef bellowed "Girl! We are out of the good spices, take that pouch and fetch some more. If you are gone any longer than 10 minutes, I shall beat you with my rolling pin!" He was a fat, dumpy man whose only joy in life was to siphon the joy from anyone that wasn't a customer. But she complied. Serenity knew that he wasn't joking, and the feeling of that rolling pin wasn't worth the extra wandering time. She grasped the pouch in both hands and crossed the street to the stalls. She made her way past aisles of stands peddling silks, soaps, and different dusts claiming to be higher quality than all others. The spice stall with what the chef wanted was just up ahead, and as she made her way up to it, another store came into sight. It was an exotic food store, the smells emanating from it pushed away all else in the market, the tall man behind the counter selling delicacies and candies from the other kingdoms. She spied a shiny bag of caramels with a snowflake logo on the front. Her mind couldn't withstand the temptation, it was almost like they were calling to her. She soon found herself walking away from the spices, and over to the tall man. When Serenity pointed at the candies, the man knelt down to her level. "These aren't any normal candies, each was baked with layers of dus-" It was then that the lanky man saw the hefty pouch of coin the girl was struggling to keep in her hands. The enterprising man that he was, would be a fool to turn down this fortuitous proposition. He hastily handed the white bag to the girl and took the pouch. "There you go, just…don't eat 'em all at once." Then as if he needed to be anywhere else, he swiftly began to pack up his stall. Serenity barely noticed.  
She was entranced by her mysterious new treats. She started to walk back when the unmistakeable smell of the kitchen hit her. She was standing back next to the spice stand. At that moment, all was realised. Her heart rate increased and she began to breathe heavily. She turned to run back to the food stall, but it had vanished, as if it had never been there. She turned back to the spice store with teary eyes, and received no sympathy from the vendor. Serenity could feel only frustration and regret, knowing she would have to return to the inn with no money, or spices. Or did she? Serenity began to walk away, but only so far that the clerk occupied himself with another customer. She then seized the opportunity and ran up to pilfer the sack of spices. The bag was too hefty to loft with one hand, so in her haste she stuffed all of the multi-coloured candies into her mouth at once. Once the package was in her arms she ran.  
She was ecstatic! Not only was she riding on a caramel fuelled sugar rush, she had enough adrenaline to run to Mistral! She thought she had gotten away with it too, until she heard frantic footsteps behind her. "Get back here you little runt!". Muffled screams escaped from the girl's lips as she swallowed each and every one of her candies. Once the last one disappeared down her gullet, her muscles started to ache like she'd cramped them, and then started to burn.  
Her screams were fully audible now as she continued to run away from the shopkeeper while her muscles wrenched and rippled. Her vision went white for a split second, and when the haze cleared she was pushing people three times her size aside like they were grass stalks in a field. Despite this buff, the clerk was still catching her, so she made a deft turn…into a dead end. Serenity dropped the spices on the ground, and she felt her stomach nauseously churn. "I've got you now, you putrid little thief!". She couldn't hear him over the ringing in her ears. She was changing, her hair was changing colour, from sandy brown to an Amalgam of different bright colours. She did notice the change as locks of her hair fell in front of her straining face, but was preoccupied with holding tears back as she winced in pain. "What were you planning to do, huh?" sneered the scorned shopkeeper. He pushed the sniffling girl to the ground violently and started kicking her stomach. "This is what you deserve!". No one could hear her cries in this alley, no one to save her. All she could do was beg through the immense pain for the man to cease. "Stop! Please stop! I'm sorry!" she had submitted completely and yet the onslaught continued. Again she begged over and over again to no avail, and her vision began to fade away to darkness. With the last sliver of her energy she screamed "STOP!". The barrage slowed to a halt, and Serenity fell unconscious.


	2. Serenity Bliss, Chapter Two

Chapter Two: Power  
When she awoke the pulsating pains were gone, but her stomach was blackened with bruises. She slowly sat up, supporting herself on her elbows as she attempted to focus her view. She expected the spices to be gone and her heirloom necklace stolen, and yet, the sack had not moved. She turned around to a startling sight. The man who had scourged her earlier was still standing over her, with a blank expression across his face. Even as Serenity scampered away from him, he did not move from his stance. She saw this bizarre display as a trap to bring down her guard she backed up against the wall and shouted "Back off!". He complied without hesitation and took pronounced backward strides until he was almost out of the alley. These actions made him even more startling then before, his docility was unnerving. She wondered why he was doing what she told him to, was he afraid of her? "Now hit the sand!" the man took the order literally and instead of running, knelt down and began bashing the ground with fervor. She took this opportunity to grab the spices and run, stepping on his back as she passed.  
Night had almost fallen, and dinner rush at the tavern had likely begun already, so she took the back entrance directly to the kitchen, where the chef was waiting for her with the reddest face she'd ever seen. "I'm sorry" she said "I got the spices". The chef flared his nostrils and stomped up to her and snatched the sack from her arms. "Who do you take me for? You have been gone for hours, and what, to get your hair dyed? We've lost customers because of you!" The chef grabbed her by the forearm and yanked her into the larder. "Do you think you can ruin this places reputation for good food and get away with it!?" He reached to a shelf beside him and brandished his rolling pin like a street thug. "I want you to know, girl, that this will hurt you more than it will hurt me!" the brutish man advanced, laughing manically like he was playing out a cruel joke rather than a punishment. He swung overhead. Serenity dodged to the side and tried to squeeze past him, but before she could make a run for it, the chef clutched the back of her shirt and threw her to the ground. She had the wind knocked out of her and could only barely see the chef standing over her through teary eyes. "Now you get double bashings!". Helpless she covered her face and shouted "NO!" It was as before. The man stood blankly, as if awaiting instruction. She was too startled to say almost anything, only managing to croak out "Move." The chef slowly backed out of the larder and leant up against a hot oven. His breathing changed and his eyes started to water but his body refused to move without command. She almost told him to get away from it, but her pain and anger told her he needed to suffer. She ran past him to retreat upstairs to her family.  
Her parents were still waiting tables and clearing dishes for the dinner rush like they did every night, but greeted her with a look of shock and only stared at her hair when she started recounting the events of the day. "...and there was this tall, tall man, and he sold me these snowflake candies, but i had to eat 'em all real quick, and then-" her speech was cut off by the sound of many plates smashing, and before the pieces could even settle, Remedy had scooped up Serenity and started dashing down the stairs, with Clarity following closely behind. They had gotten halfway down the street before Serenity had a chance to ask "Where are we going? Why are we running?" Remedy abruptly replied with a tone she had never thought her father would use. "We're going to Shade, to get those out of you" Serenity had countless questions, and as if she sensed it, her mother explained "What you ate were dust drops, magical candies used to boost hunters and huntresses, but they are dangerous, and its a miracle that you are still walking, let alone alive after swallowing them all." Serenity was confused. "Why are we going to Shade?" "Because they're the only real power here dear, and they have more doctors and more experience with dust use than anywhere else in the kingdom." Remedy followed up "So they could have an idea of what happened to you and your hair, and how to fix it." Fix. Was she broken? She started to worry about what these changes would mean, about how her parents would be punished for breaking the dishes, and how what happened to the chef would appear. All this worry, paired with the uneven thumping stride of her father carrying her made her feel queasy. Before she could complain about it, the exhaustion took her and she fell asleep in her dads arms.  
When she woke, a woman in a white coat with a green turtleneck sweater and big green eyes was holding a light to her face, and she had been stripped down to her undergarments. She started to panic, but her parents rushed up from behind the doctor. Clarity spoke first, tears in her eyes, her tone awash with relief. "Oh thank the maidens, we thought be lost you." The doctor stepped in "It's really quite remarkable what's happened to you young lady, your hair has retained residual dust from the drops, and i believe it will stay this symphony of colours for quite some time, if not permanently. When coupled with the adrenaline you were producing at the time of consumption, the dust also seems to have increased muscle density and elasticity simultaneously, and through some science-y bio mumbo-jumbo I'm not gonna bother you with, it has incorporated into your body's natural hormone production. In other words, when your body is placed under stress, it will actually start making dust that alleviates pain and increases your physical capability. Have you ever considered becoming a huntress? It might be a good idea." "Hold it right there!" Remedy stood between the doctor and Serenity. "My daughter is still far too young to even be thinking about risking her life out there." The doctor looked unphased by Remedy's tone. Serenity spoke up "How do you know all of this? About what is happening to me?" The woman looked back at her and smiled "Because i can see it, i can even see your heart beating" This baffled the entire family. "What do you mean?" Clarity asked. "It is my semblance. I am able to see the inner workings of peoples bodies. With my studies and understanding, I could 'see' the fear being produced by your brains. That leads me to ask, did you notice anything strange? Did anything happen to you that seemed even more out of the ordinary?" "...No" Serenity mumbled "Not to me at least, when i woke up, the man chasing me did whatever i told him to do, the chef did as well" "Astounding, may i ask you some questions?" Serenity nodded. She proceeded to ask things like 'How did it feel?' and 'Was it difficult?' Serenity answered as best she could, though her memory of the situations was foggy.  
The doctor was frantically taking notes. This made Remedy uncomfortable. "Doctor, if you are unable to fix this then we shall take our leave. I have already expressed that I do not want my daughter to risk her life in huntress training." The woman sharply moved her eyes from her notes to him. "If i may Mr. Bliss, but she has already risked her life out there. There is already rumor spreading of a rainbow haired thief who destroyed a few market stalls by shoving customers into them, while being chased by an armed merchant." Serenity drooped. She hadn't been able to tell them that much, and they stared at her, with eyes that threatened to shrink Serenity away into her guilt. "What did you do?" "I had to, dad. I had to steal the spices. The money was all gone." The doctor saw the activity in Remedy's brain and stepped in. "You don't have to worry, they aren't going to come after her. As soon as the news got to the school, I had the merchants reassured and reimbursed." "But why?" Serenity asked. "Because I knew what was happening to you. Your semblance was forced to activate before your time, and you will need help to get it under control" The woman turned back to Serenity's father and continued "Help that she will only find here, or at another academy. Because though we covered today's incident, more will come without proper preventative measures. So I do highly recommend that your daughter stays here, not for the hunting or fighting, but for her own safety. There are no end of people that would find someone with a power like her's useful, and not many of those people will be polite about taking it." She walked over to a sink on the far side of the room to fill a glass of water. It made Serenity realise how truly thirsty she was. Remedy was solemn. He always did his best to be rational, and he saw the truth in her words. That wasn't making them any easier to hear. "There must be another wa-" "No, Rem. Didn't you hear her? I couldn't imagine our daughter being stolen away and used for...whatever some hooligan wished" she had to catch her tears and cover her straining mouth. "I think she should stay, it's not far away." Serenity didn't like the sound of being couped up in Shade, but she didn't exactly like the sound of being kidnapped either. "Then it's decided?" said the doctor returning with the glass. "It..." Remedy stumbled over his words, and looked back at his wife for reassurance. "It is. She will stay here, where she can be safe." "Wonderful." the doctor said with slight enthusiasm, and held out the glass with a wink. Serenity took the glass she had been so desperately wanting. She didn't remember ever drinking that fast, though she didn't remember ever running as much as she did that day. "Would I still be able to see them?" Serenity asked the doctor, with as much pleading in her voice as she could muster. "You will." Said the doctor, taking the glass back from her. "However we shouldn't try to pr...oke strong emo...ns within you just...case it creates another inc...dent." Serenity was confused. "Could you say that again?" was what she wanted to say, however when she opened her mouth, only the vowels managed to make it out. The doctor was looking at her parents, who in turn were looking at Serenity with sorry faces. She was losing her eyesight, but before it faded to black, she saw her parents say something to her, glance at the doctor, and leave.


	3. Serenity Bliss, Chapter Three

Chapter 3: School  
Serenity was awoken by the sound of laughter. From the sounds of it she could tell they were teens, mentioning things like exams, and weekend plans. This was alien to Serenity, all her life the weekends had been spent at that tavern with her parents. Her parents! She shot up and nearly fell out of the bed. How had she got here? Where was she? It was large for a bedroom, smelled like cleaning chemicals and new paint. The floor was carpeted, which seemed luxurious to her. The bed she lay in was firm, like it had never been slept in, and had white sheets and covers that were emblazoned with floral patterns. She wished they were pink. She slowly clambered out of bed and felt her joints crack and pinch. She was greeted by her reflection in the mirror of a dresser. Serenity almost couldn't recognise herself. She still had her rainbowy hair, she had been bathed by the look and feel of it (which was unnerving), and was wearing white pyjama gown. She admired herself for the first time in her life. She looked taller, somehow. She looked pretty. She never thought that possible. She was always dirty, as her parents were, and usually had a film of oil from the kitchen covering her face. It felt weird. It felt good.  
Before she could compose herself properly the door burst open. "You're awake!" the familiar voice said excitedly. "I was beginning to think you were gonna stick to that bed." The doctor strolled over with a skip in her step, and Serenity thought that she must always be like that. "Where am I?" Serenity asked. "What happened?" "Why this is a dorm room at Shade Academy, made to suit a single person for the moment while you settle in and grow into a role here." The doctor frowned. "As for what happened, I may have drugged you a little...to calm you, and to make sure you wouldn't freak out about being here. You don't seem too startled though, are you feeling okay?" "I feel fine" Serenity said. "You said i'd still be able to see my parents, so I'll do as you ask." The doctor gave her a sympathetic smile. "You're really brave, you know. I'm gonna do everything I can to make sure you are comfortable here, but you should know, I agreed not to throw you into huntress training, but you will have to attend theory classes with the hunters-in-training, so no one looks into why you are really here, I just don't want you to be alienated, is all." Serenity nodded. "That sounds alright". "Good. My name is Lu, Lu Bai, Doctor Bai if you want." She walked over to the dresser with the mirror. "In here you'll find your uniform, and other assorted clothing for out-of-school hours. For today you have free reign to explore the school, I've informed faculty to not bother you. Your classes start tomorrow, just keep quiet and listen and you'll get the gist of it before long. Do you have any questions?" Serenity held her stomach and felt it rumble. Like clockwork Doctor Bai pulled out a note from her pocket and handed it to Serenity, smiling. "Give this to whoever is behind the counter in the cafeteria, they should be able to help you." "Thank you, doctor. For everything." Doctor Bai smiled again "Not a problem, under your circumstances, you'll be a great addition to the school, and our students mean the world to us."  
After Bai left, Serenity tried on the uniform, it felt a bit tight coming on, but fit nicely after passing the problem areas. She managed to get lost and turned around twice before she left the dorm building. Finding the cafeteria was easier though, signs there to guide her way. She handed the note to the lunch lady, who then led her through the kitchen. She must have early, people were still preparing food for the lunchtime rush, the air started to feel more familiar. She was led past all the noise into a stockroom out back. But it wasn't the general view of a stockroom, in aisles, pre-cooked meals sat on shelves with intricate glyphs beneath each platter. "Freshness seal" the lady said with such bluntness that it made Serenity jump. "Take what want." She looked, some were crisp Caesar salads, moisture still visible, some were laden with roast potatoes, others with shaved meats, with steams lingering around the platter. She grabbed a pair of tongs and started to pull things onto her plate, and as soon as the food left the glyphic platters, the smells filled the air like perfume. She left with her plate and ate in the main seating area. The potatoes were still steaming, and tasted of butter. The salad was so crisp it was almost as if it were still growing. She saved the meat for last, but after recognising the spices in the first bite, she left it to the side. She didn't mind being here, but she didn't need a reminder as to why.  
The rest of the day passed by quickly, despite herself being the only one she spent it with. She was able to look into classes, saw the Headmaster in passing, and greeted a few of her fellow students. By the time she headed back to her room, Doctor Bai was there to meet her. "Here is a list of your classes, and I left stationary in your room. Tomorrow's lessons will be overseen be Miss Garnet, she doesn't bite, and I've told her not to push you for answers to last weeks lessons. Did you get a good look around?" "I did" Serenity replied "But it seemed like no one wanted to hold a conversation with the girl with rainbow hair." "It will take time, but you will enjoy it here, you'll fit in. Trust me, I'm a doctor. If there's anything we know, it's patients." Serenity glared at her, and Doctor Bai nudged her until a laugh came out. "Rest up, Serenity. I can only cushion this place so much. This is still a prestigious school and the classes will take effort." She left after that, Serenity waved her goodbye and got ready for bed. She lay awake for a while, nervous for what the new day would bring. She had been taught to read by her parents, and occasionally tutored by talkative customers at the tavern, but knew very little about the creatures of grimm, only that they took many forms, and want only for destruction. With no labelled preparation needed, she decided sleep was the best way to prepare.  
She woke with a start, a screeching noise coming from the other side of the room. she scampered up and opened the drawers in her dresser to eventually find an alarm clock with a note next to it 'Wakey wakey!'. "Very funny Bai" she grumbled. Once dressed, she attempted to decipher her class map. She still managed to get lost once before making it to her class just late enough to get noticed as she walked in. "Sorry" she blurted as the class silenced around her. The teacher just stared, before motioning for her to go sit. The teacher continued. "Being able to identify grimm and access the threat they pose to you is essential for any mission situation." She tapped her cane upon the blackboard to point out a sketch of a wolf-esque humanoid "The Beowulf is the 'grunt' of the grimm if you will, not particularly dangerous to a hunter alone, however what it lacks in strength, it makes up for, in numbers." The teacher, Miss Garnet, though she herself was not a terrifying figure, spoke with an experienced tone that suggested that she could stare down beasts like this and cause them to flee. With the stories of hunters that she'd heard, Serenity doubted that suggestion was far from truth. Serenity couldn't help but fidget in her seat, she was sore for some reason, she could have put it down to sleeping funny in a new bed, but it felt like there were individual bruises on her limbs. She couldn't remember her dreams too well, only an uncomfortable feeling, maybe she was attacking herself in the night. Nothing was impossible. In her daydream she hadn't noticed the teacher was pointing at her and was on the verge of shouting. "You! What is your name?" "Serenity" she said weakly. "So, Serenity, do you know why a Boarbatusk is vulnerable on its top side?" Serenity panicked and started spluttering 'umm's and before Serenity could spitball an answer out the teacher held out a hand to stop her. "Of course you don't, not because you're new, but because you weren't paying attention! Do we need to speak after class? I think we do. I think you need to be taught how we do things here. I cannot stand for unfocused and rebellious behaviour in my class, you need a thorough scolding." Serenity couldn't form words. What did she even do? This was way over the top. She shrunk back in her seat and noticed the whole class was looking at her.  
The last minutes of the class ticked by quickly as if eager to see her squirm. Her classmates left all at once, leaving her alone with the red-haired woman. The teacher sat at her desk and curled a beckoning finger at Serenity. She walked up with her books in her folded arms, like they would protect her. She was shaking as she approached. Miss Garnet looked up at her sternly, removing her glasses, and just as Serenity prepared for her to yell again, her expression softened. "You okay?" Serenity untightened her face muscles. "W-what?" "Are you okay? Did you understand what you heard?" Serenity loosened her hold on her books, almost dropping them. "I don't get it" "What don't you get?" "Why are you all calm? I thought i was being scolded" The teacher widened her eyes like she had just been reminded of her own actions. "Oh, that. That was a farce. Oldest trick in the school book, my teacher did it to me, his teacher before that." "But why?" Serenity asked. "To help you of course. How did other students treat you yesterday? Don't answer, rhetorical." She didn't slow the pace of her speech, but Serenity saw the sympathy in her eyes. "And so I yelled at you, made you seem like just another student here. You shouldn't have any problem making friends now." She was smiling. "How can you be so sure?" "Oh I'm sure, I wouldn't be surprised if they were outside now, waiting for you to emerge and bitch about me" Serenity was surprised by the coarseness of her language, but was coming to understand the situation.  
"So I'm not in trouble?" "Not in the way you think you are. I do hope however you will be more astute and concentrate more in this class now that I've done you this favor, does that sound like a fair exchange?" Garnet was extending her hand. "Deal." Serenity said completing the handshake. "Go on then. Walk on out, don't forget the cocky smile to establish coolness." Serenity laughed, Miss Garnet always spoke as if she'd played out this scenario a million times. Serenity complied, forced a face of 'cocky' indifference, and started for the door. As it cracked open and she saw her classmates waiting for her, a voice boomed from behind her, almost breaking her composure "YOU THINK YOU'RE UNTOUCHABLE, DON'T YOU? YOU ARE FAR FROM IT YOUNG LADY! I'LL BE CALLING YOUR PARENTS FOR THIS!" Serenity looked back to the teacher to see that she'd thrown her own coffee over her pristine white blouse and red skirt. Serenity had to hide her dropping jaw from the students peering in whose jaws were dropping all the same. She pulled the door closed before she lost it to shock. "You threw coffee on her?!" excitedly exclaimed by a girl from the mass of a class audience. "I...I did. Yeah I did!" The tallest of the students pushed his way to the front. He had black hair, dark skin, and dark green eyes. "You're ballsy, Colour Girl" he said bumping his fist off her shoulder. Serenity didn't show that it hurt. "What's your name?" he asked "Serenity." With that said, over half of the crowd vanished, to spin the rumor mill, and others sauntered off flicking smiles her way. A few stayed, the tall one, another boy with blue tips in his blonde fringe that he struggled to keep out of his blue eyes, and there was a small girl, who almost looked like she was trying to hide behind the nothing in front of her.  
"What are you doing now?" the tall guy asked. "I'm not sure" Serenity admitted "I'm kinda hungry." He straightened himself. "Likewise, theory classes are over for the day, so suggest we all get changed, then maybe we can meet up at the cafeteria to get properly introduced?" The other two nodded in agreement. "That sounds good" Serenity said, feigning casuality. "Meet up there in fifteen." the blonde boy finalised. They each headed off to their rooms. Serenity wondered what their rooms were like, having to share with other people. Was she lucky, or just lonely? She burrowed through her dresser to find something to wear. There was never any pink. She settled for a red shirt and white shorts, close enough she thought. She headed down into the cafeteria and found them. The tall guy wore a black sleeveless button-up, and black trousers. The blonde was wearing a blue hoodie, with the cords annoyingly uneven, and the girl had changed into a white dress with floral patterns, not unlike her bedspread. When she approached with her food, they stopped their conversation to focus attention on her. "Hey" she said. "Have a seat, I'm Blanc by the way. Blanc Night" the tall one said. "Blanc?" she asked. "Yeah, like the wine. Guy in blue is Oxford Cobalt, and this girl, is Ebony Ivory." Oxford gave a two-fingered salute, and Ebony squeaked out something that might've been "Hi". They chatted about class, family background. Serenity held back key details regarding her lack of wealth, as it showed that Blanc at the very least was heir to a large mercantile based company, and held an uneducated view of the people lower than him. Their conversation drifted to practical classes and what was coming up. "Are you in a team yet Serenity?" She wiped her mouth of excess food, and swallowed. "No, they haven't assigned me to anything." "That's odd." Blanc said, the others nodded in agreement. "Do you know why?" She looked down at her plate. "I don't think I'm supposed to say". Blanc turned his seat to her. "What's up?". She put her utensils down. "Do you guys know Doctor Bai?" "The academy nurse. Yeah, what about her?" "She said I don't have to do combat classes" Blanc looked confused. "Do you want to do the classes?" "I'm not sure" Serenity replied. "They seem more interesting, and you learn more firsthand than you would at a desk, but..." "But there's no coffee to throw?" Oxford said grinning. This made Ebony spit out her drink and giggle. Serenity shot Oxford a feign sour look that only made him grin more. Blanc spoke next "It would be worth trying Serenity. Plus, you could be our fourth! Our last member moved to Vale last semester. We can't do missions until next year anyway." "I'll have to ask the Doctor." said Serenity, Then Blanc spoke again. "I think she hates me, that Doctor." Serenity looked at him quizzically. "Why's that?" "It's because of my semblance, it immunises me against other semblances. So she has to do proper step-by-step diagnosis on me, rather than just seeing what's wrong like she does with everyone else. "Serenity's eyes widened. "That's amazing!" Like the question in Serenity's head had already been asked, she looked over at Oxford and the glass of water in front of him was reaching boiling point, and then immediately froze to ice, then returned to normal. Blanc, smiling, placed his finger in the glass, and Duke flushed his face attempting to change it's state, before conceding. "What about you Ebony?" She went to stand but Oxford put his hand on her shoulder to stop her, and shook his head. Then Ebony just turned to Serenity and shrugged. "And you?" Blanc said staring at her. Serenity looked down. "I'm not sure" she lied.  
The conversation died out soon after, and they headed back to their rooms for the night. Serenity stopped by the Clinic to see Doctor Bai. She stepped right up to her desk and confidently half-shouted "I'd like to do practical classes, and I'd like to join a team." She seemed taken aback. "Why the sudden interest?" "Peer-pressure mostly" she admitted. "But from what I've heard from the others, and seen what some of these people can do, I want to be able to do amazing things too." Bai took off her glasses and thought for a moment. She looked up and spoke. "Are you sure about this? Once you're in the program, it will be difficult to remove you from it." Serenity hesitated. "I-...I'm sure." Bai sighed and put her glasses back on. "Very well, I assume the team you want to join is led by that handsome Blanc boy?" Serenity wanted to protest that insinuation, but instead only nodded. She wasn't wrong, but that wasn't the reason she wanted to join. Well, not the only reason. "They have accepted me, and believe I don't know my semblance." Bai stood. "I'll see what I can do, but practical situations are only for second years, so they wont be doing any without you either. Focus on your studies like them for the time being. Learn up, because Vacuo is a dangerous kingdom, the students must be more so to survive it."


	4. Serenity Bliss Chapter Four

Chapter 4: Combat  
The following year was a flurry of textbooks, pop-quizzes on the anatomy and weaknesses of Grimm archetypes, and training with her new team: EBON (Ebony, Bliss, Oxford, and Night). Their first practical outing was happening today. They had each their own weapons. Blanc sported some engraved knuckle dusters, previously his father's and his father's before him, a violent heirloom. Ebony had no visible weapons, but her skirt now rattled like crazy when she walked. Oxford's weapon was coolest by far and had no qualms showing it off before leaving the school. It was a long steel flask that Oxford was able to expel water from and control its movement via changing its state; if he wanted the water fly further, he would turn it to steam. He said he could feel the water in the air once thrown, but it was like he didn't have the strength to grab it and control its movement, and hoped that one day he wouldn't have to throw the water with his arm at all. "What do you do if the flask empties?" asked Serenity. He wanted to show her, and looked at the full flask, and splashed Blanc's back with the entirety of its contents, and got nothing but a backwards look in return. Oxford held up the flask and looked to the sky and concentrated. Serenity looked in wonder as the air above the flask looked visibly thicker, and drops started to fall into it like a leaky fixture. "How long will it take to fill?" "About 10 minutes." "Really?" Oxford nodded "I've gotten good at retaining the water though, so its not like I'm out of commission for most of the time." Serenity shrugged "Still cool." Serenity had a fair amount of trouble deciding on a weapon, she hadn't actually fought before, or even seen a Grimm outside of class. She asked around for recommendations and was told ranged weaponry was the way to go for first timers. Rather than heading to the Vacuo markets and reliving bad memories, she borrowed a rifle from Shade's armory. It wasn't overly impressive, and seemed brash and clunky. The real reason she chose it was because the spruce wood that made up its stock was sun-baked and had started to tinge pink.  
After some information on the region, and other rendezvous points in case of emergency, the teams were sent in different directions off into the desert in search of pre-crystallised dust that teachers had hidden in the sand. The 'easy' part was that the dust attracted Grimm and that would make them easier to find. Team EBON headed north-west, into the deepest part of the desert, thanks to Oxford and his semblance they were most likely to survive if they were lost. That didn't make Serenity any more comfortable, loose sand filling her shoes and the sun bearing down on her colourful head. "Any sight of Grimm?" Blanc asked looking forward. "None left!" Oxford shouted ahead. "None Right." Ebony almost whispered behind him. They kept walking before Blanc stopped. "Serenity?" she looked at him "What?" she asked, turning around just in time to duck under the swipe of a Beowulf. They had been buried in the sand, and rose out once they had passed, 12 in all. Serenity almost fell over backing away from it, just as Blanc had rushed forward to pummel the first wolf in the face. The knuckles made a clapping noise against the Grimm's skull, meaning metal wasn't the only power those hands were packing. Blanc rushed forward again, and Ebony jumped for the incapacitated one to finish it off. She pulled two knives from a pocket in her dress that didn't seem to be there beforehand, and flicked them into the beasts neck, killing it. Blanc had beaten another down in this time and had started on a third, and Oxford had disappeared from behind Serenity. All three had sprung into action against the pack, punching and stabbing, Oxford had frozen his water into a blade-like shape and was slashing. Serenity had finally realised that this was a team of four and took the rifle from her back and lined it up with the head of a Grimm and fired, the sound piercing the air, the bullet piercing the Beowulf's head. Serenity felt accomplished, only a week of practice and a headshot on the first try, sure he was frozen in place by Oxford, but that was beside the point. Half the Grimm had fallen by then, and the others were starting to tire, Blanc especially. Serenity fired thrice more, taking out a further two, and Ebony had practiced a bloody acupuncture on a third, three remaining. Then all at once, Oxford fell from exhaustion and had a wolf coming for him, Ebony had been thrown across the sand and was struggling to re-stand, and Blanc was pinned down and was doing all he could to keep a beast's jaws from his face. Serenity took aim and fired at the one on top of Blanc, but no lead came out, and the gun had made that same piercing sound followed by the clashing of steel. It dropped a destroyed casing. The mechanism was shot, literally. Serenity was panicked and watched as her previously powerful teammates were losing the fight. Her vision blurred and she dropped to one knee as the familiar pain returned to her. Her muscles pulsed and almost vibrated in her arms and legs. She looked forward and started running.  
The rifle had flipped in her hand and she was holding it like a sledgehammer as she dashed to Blanc's aid. An uppercut swing with the butt of the rifle made a satisfying crunching sound against the Beowulf's jaw, and sent it sprawling. The next frame of Serenity's vision was her standing above the grimm, stabbing it with the shooting end, repeatedly. It faded away into black smoke as they do when they die, but Serenity still couldn't see straight. More danger was still nearby and her adrenaline was still pumping. She bounded up behind the grimm headed for Oxford while Blanc helped Ebony. She had dropped her gun, now entirely munted by her brutal use of it, and was catching the stalking wolf. When she made contact the wolf was nearly at Oxford's throat. She had jumped surprisingly high and grabbed the grimm around the head, using her momentum to flip over and throw the wolf into the sand. Wow she thought to herself. That motion had not hurt the grimm, but Serenity now stood between it and Oxford, trying to look intimidating, not that that was even possible, compared to the snarling beast before her. It ran at her on all fours and she wasn't entirely sure how to stance herself in preparation for that. When he got close, she rolled diagonally under it and grabbed it's head again, in a choke hold. She had a good grip, but the wolf swung its body erratically, rag-dolling her on it's back. She lost grip and fell, scraping on the coarse fur on the way down. Deja vu struck as she found herself in a similar situation as Blanc had. She looked for aid and saw Blanc and Ebony fighting the other remaining wolf. They would succeed, but that wasn't the issue for Serenity right now. Black slobber dropped onto her face, burning and numbing at the same time. She looked into it's eyes. They were blank, red, and unmoving. Even in this alarming situation, she almost pitied the beast, with no notion of what was happening around it. But a child in the grand scheme, just lacking temperance. The longer she looked into it's eyes, the less blank they seemed to be. There were inflections, small, usually unnoticeable pupils, and they were staring back at her. Her arms were tiring, trying to hold it's jaws apart, but the Beowulf seemed to be tiring as well. It's eyes lost much of their glow, and it stopped pushing her hands back as hard. It almost seemed like it had changed its mind about attacking her. Serenity thought back to the market, to the tavern, and wondered. She slowly dropped her hands, then closed her eyes in relief.  
She only just opened her eyes in time to see the beast's eyes flash back into life and bring it's baring teeth down to her. She moved her head, too slow. The teeth had taken her right ear.  
She screamed in pain, the pulsing in her head twice as fast as before. One hand instinctively covering the wound, she used her left hand to punch it's throat, her hand piercing the skin. Pushing through the burning sensation (still screaming, mind you) she lifted the grimm off of her, rolling it to her side as it faded to smoke.  
She must've blacked out. When she woke, she was being carried by Blanc. "The others?" Blanc almost jumped at the sudden words from the object he'd carried for at least an hour. "We're all fine, quite thanks to you. You are a mystery Serenity Bliss." She smiled at him, and started to doze off before asking "Did we find the dust?" "Yeah!" Oxford shouted from behind, holding a dark red crystal. "We found it under your head, if you can believe it" She looked at him with raised eyebrows. "My head? MY HEAD!" She dropped from Blanc's arms and grasped at her ear, or lack thereof. "Its really gone." Blanc looked at her sympathetically. "It only took the outside, you should still be able to hear. Sorry." She noticed the right half of her hair was red, and then fainted.  
She woke late in the night. She wasn't in her room, but in the clinic with Dr. Bai asleep on a chair next to her. Bai woke too when Serenity tried to stand. "You're on anesthetic, go slow." They both stayed seated. "My ear-" "I know" Dr Bai interrupted. "I was oddly prepared for this; I had a rubber prosthetic on hand, it's meant for anatomical instruction, but has worked a trick as a replacement." Serenity reached up and felt an ear, slightly bigger than her real one, but better than a hole in her head. "Thank you, doctor. Where are the others?" Bai stood. "They weren't too roughed up, Ox had a concussion but otherwise fine. After handing over the dust and bringing you here they went to bed. The odd thing was, that the dust crystal you brought back was shaped different and was red, rather then the blue that was sent out by faculty. I believe this dust is in fact mostly just ear blood." Serenity's eyes widened. "That's gross!" Bai smiled at her and said "Yeah, but it passed you." an started laughing. Despite having lost her ear, Serenity laughed too.


	5. Serenity Bliss, Chapter Five

(Time Skip)  
Chapter 5: Snow  
Serenity is 18. Her studies into huntressing have made her one of the most impressive students at Shade, and her semblance has been strengthened over her time at the academy, she is now able to give simple commands to the weak willed without having fear or adrenaline pumping. She also had an incident where she walked in on Oxford naked in their dorm room, she said "Forget I was here." in embarrassment, and he seemed to have done exactly that, not even shying when looked at by Serenity, like it never happened. From these developments, no one found out about her. Which was good she thought, how could she keep friends if they were in constant fear of being controlled?  
The Vytal festival was this year: An international competition testing the skills of hunters and huntresses-in-training in a team tournament battle for supremacy. Unsurprisingly, for their efforts and skill, team EBON had been chosen as the sole representatives of Shade in the bouts. There is usually talk of letting younger teams into consideration, none remarkable enough to tilt away light from their shining seniors. Serenity wanted a more powerful weapon for this tournament, as to not resort to brute force and give away her strange gift. The others had been surprisingly helpful in the construction of her deathdealer. A repeating crossbow, tinkered together by the handy Blanc, held in place by an ice mold made by Oxford, and strong wood and steel chosen by the knowledgeable Ebony. Serenity had planned to do it herself, but sighed in relief when offered their copious assistance. She could cook, but not craft. The result was a masterpiece, even with completely different fighting styles, she could tell that her team were jealous of her with their creation. Easy to hold, though a bit heavy. The weight made the kickback barely noticeable, and man did those arrows fly. The first shot with it was an accident and flew up to the highest room of the school: The Headmaster's office. They were told that the arrow just missed the Headmaster's nose as he peered over the balcony, ten stories up.  
This year the tournament was being held in Atlas, and the team were dreading the cold. They were learning about their fellow combatants, and their semblances. Knowing the most powerful ones will help Blanc to counter them in battle, and he couldn't contain his excitement. "Imagine the look on their faces as their power leaves them hanging!" There were some worth mentioning, like Aero Foyle, from Mistral, who could fly, and specialised with a long range rifle. Ember Coal, of Vale, who could make her hands molten hot for hand to hand combat. Most recognisable was Winter Schnee, oldest child of Jaques Schnee, head of the Schnee dust mining corporation that ravages the Vacuo lands for personal profit. The girl was well versed in swordplay, and had a good mastery of her hereditary semblance of summoning. Serenity could feel a subtle hate for her already.  
The boat to Atlas was fancy, it had been provided by Atlas government to transport them safely, and to make a good impression. All of the gaudy baubles and intricate edging seemed to repulse the simple people of Vacuo aboard for spectating, but Serenity was entranced by the show of wealth. She hadn't seen anything like it, even at Shade, even when hanging around Blanc who traipsed about the ship like he'd seen it all before. She wondered what she had to do to get a taste of this life, why wasn't she born into it? She made a mental note to pilfer anything shiny that wasn't nailed down on the return trip. The team had their own room with food and drink served waiting for them, and the room was far less crowded than the rooms the populace had to shack up in. "They think they can butter us up before the fight so we feel bad and let 'em win" Blanc said. "Not a chance." Oxford followed, raiding the fridge. "Feel free to butter yourself up though!" Ox threw a pound block at him which Blanc easily caught before it hit him in the face, returning the dairy and hitting Oxford in the shoulder. "How long until we get there?" Ebony asked. "These ships are fast, really fast. We should be there by morning." Serenity saw it through a manhole. The ship cut through the waves like they weren't there. Dust. Atlas used it like it would never run out. She noticed her drink was on a snowflake coaster, and didn't touch it after that.  
After a sleep that was subject to only minimal rocking, they opened the cabin door to a biting frost that threatened to drain the life from their uncovered skin. In lieu of coats, they all grabbed the blankets that before were unneeded from their beds. Once outside they saw that all Vacuates had done the same, though they had only light cloth, rather than the luxury fur that Atlas had chosen to afford the team. Blanc didn't hesitate to give up his blanket to a cold looking woman, and Serenity eventually gave hers when it caught on her crossbow. Ebony gave hers to a child who wasn't much shorter than her, and Oxford wrapped both himself and Ebony in his. Serenity had been shocked to learn that their families are close, Ox and Ebony were paired to be a couple from a very young age. Only when they turned 16 did they make any action toward this. They seemed good together, always had. With all that time together in their lives, how could you not? Oxford looked tall next to her, even though he was no taller than Serenity, and couldn't step to Blanc. Serenity tried the flirtations with Blanc not long after she officially joined the team, but never received any recognition from him. It wasn't even like he didn't notice, he just never engaged in replying to her affection. One day, she concluded, and hasn't tried since.  
They were the first ones allowed off the ship, and were greeted by Military personnel. They introduced themselves as Tournament minders, and took their luggage for delivery to their accommodation within the school. They also asked that the team relinquish their weapons, and Serenity complied. Blanc said his was amongst his luggage and hid his dusters in his pockets, before being roughly searched and had them found. Ox took a sip from his flask and said the same and had it taken from him. Ebony emerged from the blanket, jingling, and started to undress slowly, sure she would be stopped and given an exception. She realised that the guards weren't going to stop her. She got down to her undergarment dress slip and had removed her shoes before the soldier raised his hand and said "That will suffice." Ebony was shocked by this man's lack of compassion for her, small and freezing as she was. She wasn't shocked. She was angry, and so She emerged. The lacy slip rippled as she changed, her skin changed from a brilliant white to a menacing grey, and her fingernails had changed from red to black. "I don't like you." She said to the military officer, now noticeably taller than him. "I don't like your face, it's too still. I don't like your uniform, it looks like you hugged a polar bear and walked away with what stuck to you." She then leaned in to the shrinking man. "And I really don't like that you made her do that in front of all these people." There were gasps among the crowd. She looked to her side to see that one of the officer's escorts had an automatic machine gun pointed at her in a scoped stance. The guard firmly said "Step away, before someone gets hurt." She looked confused for a moment, and then smiled. "I wasn't going to hurt him, and you're definitely not going to hurt me. Not with that, anyway. Couldn't if you tried. If you did try, I'd break that rifle, and maybe an arm, for good measure. But that wouldn't be fun, would it? Not for you. Although, it might be fun for me. Yes, I think it would be fun. I've changed my mind, go on, try." She was sporting an even wider smile then before. The escort lowered his gun, and walked away with the other military stiffs.  
Everyone watched them leave, and She turned to face the team. Her face was still familiar, much slimmer than before, and was missing all the pesky imperfections all proper human faces had. She probably would have been incredibly pretty, if she wasn't so directly menacing. Her height was also unnerving. The small girl had been replaced by a well developed figure that stood at least three inches taller than Blanc. Everyone jumped when she spoke again. "Hi there!" Serenity noticed that She was speaking almost directly to her. "Hey." she replied. "Oh man, it feels good to be out." She was stretching like one does after waking from a nap. "Over four years its been since I smelt air with my own nose, saw with my own eyes-" She stopped as if She'd made a grand realisation "And spoken with my own mouth! Bother, befuddle, bohemian, magnanimous, magnet, magnificent! Spectacles, testicles, wallet and watch! By the maidens that feels great!" Serenity looked at her like a puppy seeing rain for the first time. "Where are my manners? Ebony, Ivory Ebony in the flesh and happy to make your proper acquaintance Miss Bliss."  
Serenity stood there shaking her hand for the longest time before simply saying "What?" Blanc broke her confusion. "Ebony's semblance, this is her." "And she is me" Ivory added. "You could say that she is my semblance, my weaker, scrawnier self. She is useless, that Ebony. Graceful, sure, but she has no force. Even her words are lacking punch." Serenity was affronted by Ivory's bluntness, even if she couldn't disagree. "I wish she'd let me out more." Blanc seemed annoyed by that statement. "You burnt our dorm down!" Ivory frowned at him. "It needed burning, you saw the wallpaper, right?" Blanc advanced towards her. "You nearly beheaded me!" "That was almost entirely accidental" she rebutted. "You are infuriating!" They stepped toward each other with arms raised, ready to fight. Just as Ivory readied a punch, she stopped. Oxford had come up behind her and draped the fur blanket across her shoulders, covering her exposed skin. Ivory had been frozen in place, and almost started blushing. She turned to Ox, staring down at him. "Hey...come here." Ox said in a caring tone laced with the feeling of affection that couples have. She leaned in and the two shared a gentle but passionate kiss. As their lips locked, her features began to lose their harsh sharpness, and her height dimmed down. It was Ebony who broke the kiss, who then looked around to her audience and said "Sorry".


	6. Serenity Bliss, Chapter Six

Chapter 6: Impression  
They were the first country to arrive at Atlas for the festival, the odd climate change between the two countries usually ensures safe passage across the sea. Their home within the city was a marvel to look at, a towered building that had a whole floor for each country's teams, meaning since EBON was Shade's only representatives, they had considerably more space than the others. There was a colossal basement level under the tower as well. This was set up like a training gym, with weights, punching bags, pommel horses, and an elevated sparring ring. Serenity and Blanc looked at each other as soon as they saw it, dropped their bags and jumped up on to it. They circled each other "You ready?" Serenity asked. "Yeah" Blanc said "But no biting this time." Serenity wanted to wink at him, but knew nothing would come of it, so didn't bother. She dashed forward, taking Blanc by surprise with a right jab to his cheek. He swung wide for a right hook, and Serenity ducked left and responded with a shot to his stomach. Her fist just bounced off of him, she was stronger now, but was still unable to bruise anywhere of his toned abdomen. He grabbed her before she could scramble away, and lifted her scrambling form above his head and tossed her back to her side of the ring. It wasn't as soft as she'd hoped, but she got to her feet quickly. He was the one advancing now, diagonal steps as he came to keep his footing. She swung left hook, he blocked and twisted her arm and she squeaked in pain. He had a tight hold her arm and was enjoying the power he held on her by using his free hand to launch half-pulled punches to her arm and lower chest. She knew she shouldn't struggle in this position, but she could feel her heart rate rising and wanted to keep it there long enough for it to kick in. He stopped pulling his punches "Do you give up?" he asked with force. Serenity didn't answer. Blanc repeated himself and sped up his attacks. "Do you give up?" She was getting winded, but held out until her vision blurred. It could've been lack of oxygen, but she felt her muscles getting hyperactive. "Do you gi-" He was cut off by Serenity's right arm to block his barrage and fling his left arm away. She used all the energy she could muster in her legs to jump and climb up and around Blanc to reverse the arm lock, but rather than holding it she used her landing momentum to kick his legs from under him and slam him into the coarse mat. All of the force coupled with Blanc's own sheer size crashed down on him and left him wincing on the ground. Serenity stood over him and held out her hand to lift him to his feet. "I give up" Blanc laughed.  
There was three days until the tournament, and the other combatants had arrived through the night and slept through till noon. Around 3 o'clock the Teams were called into the combat arena in the centre of the city for an orientation, or rehearsal if you will. They lined up in rows, by country, and each other had two teams participating. This put Serenity on edge, the others didn't seem bothered. The instructor was a tall, butch man, who walked with a commanding stride that almost shook the ground as he passed. His white jacket and scars recognising him as at least former military "This, is your stage. The ground on which you stand is where many before you have proven their worth in glorious battle. You will prove your worth here...Or lack thereof" he glared at EBON, and continued. "There will be a change in the bouts. Due to the inconsideration of Shade academy we are one team short. This is an easy fix. First Match: Team DARK of Mistral vs Team GROW of Vale. Second Match: Team PWKL of Atlas vs Team YELO of Mistral. The final qualifying round will be a three-way battle between Team LEEV of Vale, Team IYCE of Atlas, and team EBON of Vacuo. To have the required four teams for the semi-finals, the first full team to fall will be disqualified from the tri-team match, and so will the defeated teams from the di-team matches. Is this clear to you all?" All voices were quiet from rapidly dried throats. He repeated. "IS THIS CLEAR TO YOU?" Most replied, all nodded vigorously. "Good. After the team rounds have ended, all continues as normal. Two from each qualifying team go forth to a semi-final bout, and the victors from that bout go head to head for the title of Vytal Champion." Eyes lit up at the sound of that. It wasn't a title that slipped past ears, even if it didn't matter while fighting grimm. The instructor straightened himself, grabbing the fronts of his jacket. "I am one such holders of that title, and can say that it is indeed a qualification that draws respect from others." The Atlas students looked at him studiously, the Vale teams looked at him with innocent admiration. Mistral didn't even raise their eyelids. Serenity leaned over to Blanc. "What do you think?" He looked across their opponents, sizing them up. After a deep breath through his nostrils he replied. "I think I'm going to win that title."  
They spent the next day exploring the city. One thing, if anything, this trip had given them, was a holiday. Ox and Ebony had kept the blanket, and it now appeared to be a symbol of their love. Chances were Atlas wasn't getting it back. Serenity entered shops and felt an odd familiarity. Though it looked far different, this was just a large marketplace, each store with closed doors to keep out the cold. She entered a store with Oxford and Ebony while Blanc tried to get used to the snow. It was a jewelry store, silver and gold necklaces and rings and clasps, all with gems encrusted into the metal. Serenity felt her heart rate rise as she remembered the last time she didn't have money for what she wanted. Her hands were fidgeting, and she felt the clerk looking at her. Rather than make eye contact, she stepped over to open the door and gestured for Blanc to come inside. He refused, saying he didn't need jewelry. She walked back into the store and stood looking over Ox's shoulder by the counter. She had left the door open on purpose. She knew he would. And off the clerk went. He stepped out from around the counter and went to close the door. As soon as he passed, Serenity leaned over the glass and grabbed the first thing her hand touched and stuffed it into her chest. Ox and Eb had witnessed her scheme entirely and when the shopkeeper returned, said they had changed their minds and wanted a soft toy as a souvenir instead and left with Serenity in tow.  
They had made it a whole block down the street before Ox slowed them down. "Why would you do that?" "Do what?" Blanc asked. "She stole from the store!" Serenity looked at him with a withering confidence. "I had to, I didn't have any money." Blanc held out his hand. "No, its mine." He frowned at her. "I just want to look at it." She stared at him, and handed it over. "This is nice. Not so shabby that it's not worth stealing, but not so expensive that it will be missed immediately." Serenity hadn't even looked, still didn't really know what she had grabbed. "It's a fleur." said Blanc, like she was supposed to know what that was. He sighed "It's a symbol usually associated with royalty, and wealth." Serenity liked the sound of that, very much so. She snatched it out of his hands and then after looking it over, handed it back to Blanc so he could help fasten it around her neck. As he clipped it, he mentioned that he could have just bought it for her. He didn't understand, money wasn't the real point for the steal. At least not her money.  
After grabbing some snacks for the night and having a proper hot meal, they headed back for the night. They were intruded on as they were preparing for bed. There was a hard knocking on the door. As soon as Oxford walked over and unlocked it it burst open and two armed officers walked in, followed by the Schnee girl, Winter, whom they had seen in the arena. "There she is." Winter said while confidently pointing at Serenity. Serenity's eyes lit up with fear. "What did I do?" she asked with feigned innocence. "I saw you!" She was staring at Serenity with the harshest inquisitive eyes imaginable. "You practically ran from that store, now hand it over. You should be disqualified for this!" Blanc stepped between the officers and Serenity, and they just pointed their rifles at him. "Alright, calm down." He said as he stepped out of the way. They walked roughly towards her and held out their hands. Serenity responded in kind. She held up her hands and asked them both to be calm. They stopped advancing. "I don't know what you've been told, but I have done nothing wrong." Their hostile faces began to relax, and Winter's scowl only soured. "This necklace was a gift from my parents and I've had it for years." Their eyes widened at the correction. "I see." one mumbled. "Now take what I've said as the truth that it is and leave." The one that spoke turned immediately and left, the other seemed confused, but proceeded to tip his hat and walk out past a fuming red Winter. After doing some violent back and forth looks between Serenity and the law enforcement, Winter started to storm after them. The team were able to hear her screaming "You two are just a couple of incompetent pieces of sh-" before Ox slammed the door. "I guess I know who I'm calling if I get detained." Serenity had turned around and started laughing, but it was only to hide the fact that her nose was bleeding. "How did you even do that?" Blanc asked. From the communal bedroom ensuite she shouted back "I'm not entirely sure!" Blanc lay down on top of his covers with his arms folded across his chest. "You are a mystery, Serenity Bliss."


	7. Serenity Bliss, Chapter Seven, Part 1

Chapter 7: Qualification, Part 1: DARK VS GROW  
The first match up was scheduled for 1:00pm to give the audience time to get settled. The stadium was alive with all sorts of noise and cheer from the other countries, but Atlas itself were quiet in comparison, and only spoke in hushed whispering tones to each other. "Just whining and gossiping about everyone else I bet." Blanc said from behind her as they walked out onto the platform as they had a few days earlier, only now they were put on display in front of thousands of onlookers. The instructor they had met was also standing in the exact same place, to the inch. This all felt so dreadfully planned. She had a sad smile on her face as she wondered if all that gossip in the crowd was just them talking about pre-determined victors. It didn't really matter, even if the game was rigged, team EBON had plans of their own.  
(Perspective change)  
He watched the other teams go up to the fens to watch the first match: Team GROW of Vale, consisting of Ivy Green, an archer who seemed full of herself, Rowan Murk, an odd boy who appeared to be having a confusing conversation with himself, Oakley Burn, a sickle wielder who was rearing to jump into the fray, and Aela Wight, a pale girl who nearly looked like a statue. None of these people worried Aero, he would ensure his team's victory with aerial superiority. An announcer blared through the arena, the abrupt loudness putting all combatants on edge. "First Bout: Team GROW, pitted against Team DARK. The environment that you will be staged in is...Vale Grassland." The signature Vytal arena style allowed all but the center of the platform fall away and be replaced by a random country's landscape. Aero resented GROW for having the advantage. The PA rang out again. "Let the Battle begin!"  
All of them moved at once, Oakley of GROW jumped forward towards Aero, but was intercepted by Dew Flax, a duel dagger specialist from DARK, who pushed him back. Oakley didn't seem all that concerned about the interception, and just smiled at the thrill of the fight. Ivy had ran away from the centre and behind a boulder for cover, and Breve Respite, DARK's pistol wielder did the same. Breve was perhaps the most valuable member of their team, as his semblance served as an amplifier for the aura's of those he had attuned to, so long as they were in range. Aela still hadn't moved from her position, her pose even. Aero took to the air and received delicious gasps of the audience's wonder that only served to boost his confidence. Once at an acceptable height he took aim and started firing. Kale Yucca was frantically searching for his foe, the remaining member of GROW: Rowan. His next thought was interrupted when a hand burst from the ground and wrapped around his ankle. "Woah there, looks like DARK were so worried about the above, they neglected to consider the below." Kale tried to jab his spear into his assailant's hand but couldn't attack with full force for fear that he'd end up stabbing himself. His struggles were for naught anyway with Rowan's next move. His semblance softening the dirt made it only a simple motion to pull him down into the ground and submerge him up to his chin in earth. After re-emerging from the ground with ease, Rowan quipped with "I didn't know that Kale sprouted this time of year." before getting shot in the shoulder by Aero with enough force to knock him down and out of commission. Ivy and Breve had been taking shots at each other, but the distance between them made it hard to land a shot and neither one wanted to bridge the gap. Dew and Oakley were caught in an all out slash war. The sickle swung round and Dew felt it trim his hair as he ducked down. He went for a stab to the stomach while he was low and Oakley leapt back and brought his crude blade down onto Dew's shoulder. He still winced in pain though his aura took the majority of the force and prevented it from piercing his clothing. He took this close quarters moment to try for the stomach again. He dropped one dagger and used the free hand to hold his opponent's weapon and thrust upwards with his remaining dagger. Oakley didn't dodge that that time and took the end of Dew's blade an inch into the skin. He fell and didn't get up.  
Aero had almost given up on trying to shoot Aela, he seemed to keep missing even though her movements were minimal, almost lazy. Probably just mind games, to throw him off he thought. Besides, she didn't seem like much a threat and Dew was heading towards her. Breve was struggling. He was confident when he'd managed to shoot Ivy in the thigh, then he took an arrow in the knee. He was on his last clip, and his gun was feeling pretty light. Three shots later he was empty, and he heard audible profanity to give away that she was also dry. She peered out and saw that Breve was holding his hands up with his pistol hanging from one finger. Ivy looked at him with unbelieving eyes, to which Breve responded to by dropping his gun and gesturing to her, taunting. She broke into a run, limping at first but letting the rhythm of her stride carry her through the pain. She threw her bow aside and grabbed a knife from her jacket and started sprinting at him. He was as prepared as he could be as Ivy shouted a battle cry and leapt into the air for a powerful strike, before she was shot by Aero and thrown backwards. Breve looked up at him with conflicted feelings, then moving to take down the final member. Aela was dodging all of Dew's attacks with ease, and none of Aero's shots seemed to make contact with her either. Then Dew made a sudden dive for her, fell through her, and landed hard on the ground behind her. His shock left her time to grab the nape of his collar and pull him back through her and pummel him into the ground. He had enough energy to crawl away, but his aura was exhausted, and he was out. "Three remain in this heated battle and things are getting worrisome for team DARK as they face a seemingly untouchable foe who has mocked them for the duration of the match by not moving from her starting position. Can Aero and Breve hope to defeat an enemy they can't even touch?"  
Breve hadn't attacked, and was thinking it over. He shouted up to Aero "I don't think we can beat her, it's even more of a wild card than your semblance." Aero didn't care what he thought, he wanted to win. He dived down hard, and flew through her at top speed. The wind seemed to catch her, and she had to catch herself, but stayed ethereal. He flew though again and again, thinking that each pass he made would diminish her energy and remove her incorporeal form. As he flew he only managed to wither his own energy reserves. Sweating, he stopped over by Breve. "What do we do?" he asked. "I don't know, but we should do something. The crowd is getting restless." Aero looked into the stands. Other than Vale who seemed contented to watch them struggle, the audience was beginning to lose interest in the rapidly cooling fight. "Do something, Ghost girl!" Aela just laughed at them "I'm fine over here if you don't mind." Breve leant over to Aero and whispered. "I have a theory."  
Aero went airborne once again and repeated what he had done, swiping though her, and back. Aela was mildly annoyed, but otherwise unphased by their futile attempts of disruption. Then rather than stopping, Aero just continued to fly through at a gradually slower pace with his encroaching exhaustion. As he came through at a dawdling speed, his expression blank and strained, he made his pass through her and she suddenly wrapped her hand around his ankle and pulled down. As soon as he felt her grip upon him he burst into motion again, pulling her from her position and letting his false tiredness fade. As her feet moved from the ground her whole body solidified and she screamed. The crowd lit back up at this unexpected development. Aero was smiling as he flew up and felt Aela cling on for dear life. "Concede and I'll take you back down. If you want to continue, I can go higher." After squeezing her eyes shut for the longest time she reluctantly submitted and shouted "I concede on behalf of team GROW!" The arena lit up with the sound of the conclusion sirens.


	8. Serenity Bliss, Chapter Seven, Part 2

Chapter 7: Qualification, Part 2: PWKL VS YELO  
After the first match the participants were taken beneath the arena with the changing terrain to get patched up. The fight was intense in Serenity's opinion, but the outcome was almost certain. The city was alive with talk of the flying boy before he'd even landed on Atlas soil (so to speak). The next teams were called out to approach the staging area. Serenity had a premonition of this bout's outcome as well.  
The two teams approached the stage. The Atlas team, PWKL, staunchly marched into the arena which coaxed a proud applause from the Atlasian audience. Then, as if mocking them, the Mistral team, YELO, strutted behind them with over-pronounced movements and salutes that put three quarters of the audience in uproarious laughter. The all female team PWKL just shrugged off the insult, at least outwardly, but this didn't stop the all male Mistralian team from keeping up the buffoonery. Winter almost drew her sword to attack them but the PA rang and drowned them out. "Second Bout: Team PWKL, pitted against Team YELO. The environment that you will be staged in is...Vacu-*fzztghhrt* ...las Snow Fields." This caused a different kind of uproar from the audience, Mistral especially. "What's going on?" shouted the leader of Team YELO, Yale Teal. He looked directly at Winter. "What strings did you pull, Schnee?" Winter stared him down and claimed that she had nothing to do with it. As the cold settled in around them she hoped she didn't do anything, that her father wouldn't do anything. The automated voice came back through the speakers "Let the battle begin!"  
Team PWKL were waiting for a live verbal all clear that the bout was proceeding, but YELO attacked first out of rage. Yale went bounding for Winter and they both drew their swords. Yale's was a cleaver that hooked downwards at the end so enemies had a harder time disengaging. This matched well against Winter's cutlass and made her have to adjust her fighting style to one suited to close quarters. Both Pearl Clementine from PWKL and Elec Watson from YELO ran back from the center as they both heavily relied on their manipulation semblances to fight. Pearl was taking advantage of the stage, even if it's choosing may have been tampered with. She could control the snow with ease so long as it was still frozen, but Elec was using his summoned lightning to do all he could to melt it. Pearl couldn't let that happen, melted snow was a far better conductor than it was when frozen. She yelled out for help from her team and Lilac Mauve responded. Her purple eyes darting, she ran across the arena dodging the unoccupied members of her opposition, an axe swing from Ire Livid trimming her dark hair as she slid beneath his legs. Ocean Cray nearly grabbed her as she clambered back up, but she shot her leg out and kicked the side of his knee and kept running towards Elec. Before the two could give chase Pearl had raised sentient snow golems to combat Ire, and the last member of Atlas' team Koamaru Era had engaged the limping Ocean. Ocean was using a mace and shield and was armored for the most part, only excluding the joints like around his knees: Lilac's lucky shot to his leg. Koa was well protected as well, her visibility only minimally impeded by her helmet. Her armor was where her defence ended though. Her weapon was a poor match for her opponent, a two-handed glaive. She needed to keep a distance while she fought. She swung wide on his unshielded side and he spun to parry and pushed forward. She pulled the glaive back and went for a stab, Ocean raised his targe and was only pushed back by her force. He swung his mace down on the blade of her weapon and heard the shaft splinter. He grinned at her as she leapt back. Koa was losing confidence in this match up.  
Lilac crashed into Elec at full speed, knocking him over and into the snow. He got to his feet as quick as he could and drew his blades before Lilac could react. He swung his dual scimitars with fervor but did not advance upon her. "What's the matter? Afraid to hit a girl?" Lilac asked as she extended her metal whips. "Yes." He admitted with a drooping expression. She responded with a lash across his face that he was not prepared for, knocking him into the snow again. He wiped his reddening face and thought that Lilac gave him a convincing argument for losing that fear. He stood and held his swords up to deflect the next lash, and the next, but the third wrapped the whip around his blades and pulled them from his grip leaving him open for the fourth which hit him in the face...and knocked him into the snow. "Enough of this!" He shouted as the air around him became heavy with electricity that lifted him from the ground and hovered him a few feet high. "I'll finish this early!" Lilac could feel the charges clinging to her, and knew that her teammates weapons would draw in the charges just as well as hers. She couldn't let this guy's semblance be the decider for the win. She waited for the energy to peak where Elec would let go, and as he did she wrapped both whips around him and discharged all of it onto herself, throwing her across the arena and over the edge of the staging area. Lilac was out, and likely injured badly, not that she could really feel much, but Elec was out of juice, and that was all that mattered to her as she was carried out by a medical team. Elec could feel it, he couldn't grasp the charges in the air anymore, so he picked up his blades and joined Ocean's fight against a losing Koamaru.  
Her glaive had snapped in half after a few more blockings of Ocean's mace. She cursed under her straining breath, wishing she had just taken the hits. The blade was awkward to hold at such a short length, and was terribly unbalanced. It did mean she could get closer and start dealing real damage, but her opponent was just as adept as she was. She swiped at his shielded side as a feign attack so she could extend an uppercut to his unguarded chin. He must have bitten his tongue she thought, as he started to dribble blood. He raised his club high for a heavy blow, but she was upon him before he could swing, pushing her shoulder into his side to bring him to the ground. The weight of his armor along with Koa on top crashing down on his chest winded him and made him drop his weapons. Koa raised her glaive blade for the final blow, and felt a slash cut across her back that took the breath from her, and she rolled off of Ocean. Lying on her back she attempted to let her armor take the hits and conserve her aura, but the pain stopped her. Her aura was completely depleted by a mace hit to the face that dented in her helmet, delivered by a recovered Ocean.  
Only Winter and Pearl remained for Team YELO to eliminate, and they still had all four members standing. Pearl had almost lost all energy and her golems only fell around Ire Livid and his blunderbuss. Winter was having the same amount of luck with Yale, the hook on his cleaver catching her blade when she parried, keeping him close enough to kick at her legs and ruin her stance so she could be easily pushed down. Winter had managed to not be forced to the ground thus far, but she was tiring like her teammate. She looked over at Pearl and saw that she was beset by three opponents. It was in this moment Winter realised that she could no longer rely on her swordsmanship alone. She dropped her blade while it was caught by Yale and all the force he was applying suddenly had nothing to push against and he fell forward. Winter used his kneeling shoulder to kick off and somersault backwards. As soon as she landed she was casting a summoning glyph like she had practiced. The glowing snowflake grew from her palm, spreading across the ground for five feet in every direction. She winced at the sensation of her aura concentrating to one place so quickly, a feeling she could never get used to. The glyph was finished, she just needed to decide what to bring forth. A boarbatusk would definitely make a good distraction, but wouldn't survive very long, a beowulf would have the same issue. There was only one real choice that wouldn't sap all of her strength. She removed her hand from the glyph and felt the energy leave her as well as the painful sensation that burdened her. All watched in awe of Winter's power, even the members of YELO that were in combat stopped to watch as the masked head of the great bear grimm, Ursa, crawled out of the snow and waited for the commands of its new master. Winter smiled at the nervous gulps of her enemies that were audible from the other side of the center platform.  
The Ursa swiped Yale and sent him through the air crashing into the snow next to his teammates. As Ire helped him to stand, Winter yelled out to Pearl "Time for the endgame!" Pearl nodded and Team YELO grouped up, preparing for a barrage, but realised their mistake too late. Pearl's golems had been nothing more than a ploy to bring more snow around the area for this final tactic. The snow clumped together and formed walls around them, and then crashed in like waves. All four members of the Mistral team were encased in a massive snowball Pearl was keeping together with all of her strength. Winter rushed over to it, dug in her heels and started to push and ordered her Ursa to assist her. With gritted teeth and straining faces the three's strength combined rolled YELO's icy prison over the edge of the arena, disqualifying the four of them. The PA system rang out with the live announcer's voice "An amazing comeback for Team PWKL with a play some might call unfair but I call ingenious, I mean who could think of such a thing? Only the mind of the brightest child of the Schnee family!" Winter hated being called that. She didn't hate her family, but hated her family name taking credit for her hard work. "All righty then! Team PWKL wins this round and it's time for the long awaited three team match! Will Vale and Vacuo both find their way into the semi-finals, or will Atlas have two chances at receiving that vital, Vytal title?"


	9. Serenity Bliss, Chapter Seven, Part 3

Chapter 7: Qualification, Part 3: LEEV VS IYCE VS EBON  
Team EBON was the last to enter the arena, and all members were waiting for the callout. This was the time. The first true combat with other humans. After all of her training and battles with grimm she should excel here, but Serenity was still nervous. After all, her opponents had likely faced all the troubles she had and still made it here. Serenity held the thought that she wouldn't have gotten nearly this far without the support of her team. "You're overthinking this." The familiar voice behind her made her jump. Standing in entrance to the preparation room was a red haired woman, whose blouse was now long devoid of coffee stains. "Miss Garnet! I didn't know you were here!" The teacher smiled and walked in. "Both me and Dr Bai were required to attend for your bouts in case of emergency." The PA speaker above them scratched their ears with noise. "Team IYCE really knows how to put on a show ladies and gentlemen. Let's hope their skill in combat is just as impressive. Now, put your hands together for Team EBON from Vacuo!" The others stood and looked to Serenity. Miss Garnet gestured them out of the door. She leant down to Serenity and looked her in the eyes. "You aren't the only nervous one." Serenity looked surprised. "I can read minds, Serenity. That's my semblance. Not many outside faculty know it, and you're the only student now." Serenity's eyes widened. That's how she knew about the first day rattles. "Yes it was, and it's how I know about how much both of the other teams are afraid of this fight, even more so than you. Your semblance may be a secret, but Blanc's and Ebony's are not and they've got Atlas rattled. That's why they did everything they could to make sure Team PWKL didn't lose, or go up against you. They are the ones who are afraid, use that." Serenity was feeling more confident, but wished she had more time to talk to her. "I know, dear. But you've got a fight to win, so go on. I know you'll do great."  
She made her way out onto the platform, hoping that she'd catch up to the rest of EBON before they finished walking. It was too much to hope for. Thousands of eyes upon her, including the eleven other combatants, all waiting for her with disdain. "Sorry." was all she could think of as she reached her team. She was reddening with more embarrassment when she heard her apology all around the arena. An aerial recording drone had focused in on her for extra drama. "Needed to use the little huntress' room." Glances were exchanged amongst Team EBON, and Oxford laughed a little. "All...right then, if there are no more hold ups." The announcer's voice disappeared and the automated one turned on. "Third Bout: Team LEEV, pitted against Team IYCE, pitted against Team EBON. The environment you will be staged in is... Oceanscape." The commentator thought this setting needed a showcase. "The Atlasian arena's new Oceanscape environment. Comprised of small segments of land from each country's biome, this arena type is a real game-changer. The center platform is not safe from the water either, your battles must take place on a land segment, or in the drink! The upside of this environment is the extended size. The arena boundary is being pushed right up to the stands, so no knock out eliminations people. Get ready for some intense fighting ladies and gentlemen. Also please note that the shields were not installed in time for the event so the first row or two in the audience may be in the splash zone... But without further ado-" the chirpy man cut himself off with the automated voice. "Let the Battle begin!"  
As soon as the bout started the central platform they were all standing on began to submerge. No one seemed bothered by the sinking at first, and all were upon each other in a close range flurry of weaponry. Many of the combatants were sticking to melee for the close quarters, but a few on the edges of the slowly sinking platform were going all out with their firearms. IYCE's team leader, Ion Cyte had an automatic rifle that was cutting away at the auras of all in front of him. Lion Brown, leader of LEEV had a short ranged weapon with a large spread that was peppering his opponents with lead. Serenity couldn't use her crossbow here, not at this range. She needed to get out. They all needed to get out; the water was up to waist height now. A startling realisation left Serenity panicking. "I can't swim!" she shouted. This news was directed at Blanc, but everyone in the arena heard. Vex Grey from LEEV started to head straight for her, powering through the water to push her over the edge of the sinking platform into the deeper water. Serenity braced herself for the force of the push but before Vex could reach her a fist collided with his jaw with power enough to lift him out of the water and sailing into other combatants. Blanc grabbed her by the shoulder. "We need to move!" Serenity nodded and Blanc looked over at Oxford. "Ox! Have you got this?" Serenity looked over at him and saw him concentrating on the water between them and the Vacuan Sandscape while Ebony protected him. His control over his semblance had grown so much in the time she'd known him. So long as there was water around, he could really flex his powers. Serenity's fear of drowning dissipated when sheets of ice burst from beneath the water, making a path to the beach. "Go now!" Ebony was the first to make her way across, followed closely by Serenity. Blanc wanted to go last to fend off followers, as well as the fact he was the heaviest, but Oxford pushed him ahead. Some tried to rush the bridge and Oxford froze the water around them, holding them in place for a moment as he climbed onto the ice slats. As he ran each step melted the ice behind him, returning it to fluid blue.  
The other teams were submerged up to their ribs now, and were heading towards their country's turf. Team EBON was already on their island, the water that soddened their clothes turning to steam at Oxford's command. Once all were on land there was another realisation. The bad news was that Serenity was the only long range specialist on their team. The good news was that she appeared to be the only long range specialist in the whole match. The others had ranged capabilities, but none with great accuracy in the expanse they now found themselves in. Serenity saw this opportunity and unsheathed her death dealer. Her weapon was versatile, switching between single fire and fully automatic fire to suit the situation. She loaded up a single shot and aimed for IYCE's team leader, Ion. The bolt whistled through the air and struck him in the shoulder. This made them panic and focus their attention on EBON. With their extra awareness, hitting them became more difficult, arrows only slicing past them. "Switch targets." said Blanc. "None can reach us here, we have the upper hand." Serenity nodded and started firing at team LEEV. This tactic was safe, but inefficient. Her opposition wasn't taking significant damage and were recognising her firing patterns already. She hadn't practiced enough, and cursed at herself for it. "We need to make a change!" Oxford yelled. "Agreed?" the rest of team EBON confirmed. Serenity maintained fire as Ox made his way to the edge of the beach and stuck his hands in the water. He was thankful that combatants were allowed to bring dust into the bouts, if he had entered this without it, he would have likely burnt out all of his energy and aura by now. But holding the crystals, he felt unstoppable. A ripple emanated from his hands across the water, stilling it, and then another. As the second ripple crossed the surface of the water it hardened and froze. This left the entire Oceanscape an odd shaped skating rink, far more traversable. Serenity bit back her thoughts on the clear advantage this gave Atlas' team.  
Clare Crystal was the first to touch the ice, testing it for solidity. After a cautious jump she confirmed it, and both teams charged at EBON. "They've decided we're the dropouts then." Blanc said with resentment. "Only one team downed to end the match. Focus Atlas, defend against LEEV. Oxford, can you trap them in this corner?" He looked down at his hands. "I can try to cut off their land, but the dust is almost depleted, I won't be much help afterwards." Their enemies were approaching fast and were almost upon them. "Go now!" Oxford dashed forward again and dived. His approach to the ice melted a small hole wide enough for him to fit through. As he swam the water around his head would turn to steam and the salt would sink below him. It wasn't easy to breathe, but it was doable. Above the water EBON was struggling. Ebony had engaged team LEEV and could dodge fairly well and her opponents were mostly close combat, but Vex Grey was another knife thrower and Ebony wanted to face her alone. Blanc was combating team IYCE and was having difficulty against the attacks from all sides. Serenity was keeping back and had switched to repeating fire mode for mid range. This caught the attention of Ion Cyte who disengaged from Blanc and started firing at her. She felt the hits, and they stung. She felt sorry for the grimm who had to deal with the real high-powered ammunition. He advanced towards her, keeping his finger on the trigger. The spray was inaccurate but still found its way to her, and she found herself hiding behind her weapon. He was sure he was whittling her aura down and kept walking forward. He could see the top of her head behind her planted weapon and dashed for the finishing shot. She winced, ready for the pushback and pain, but no rounds came. The telltale *chink* that marked the emptiness of the clip. Serenity seized the moment and hoisted the crossbow up. She didn't have time to let off a shot so swung the front of her weapon into his legs and the sand came out from beneath him as he fell. He held up his hands as Serenity stood over him "Not this close!" Not that she was going to receive the same thoughtfulness from him, but rather than fire a bolt into his chest, she loaded another string and fired. A net burst from compartments on either side of her weapon and enveloped him. He looked like he was going to say something before the net started to electrocute him. She hoped it was "Thank you."  
Ox had cut off their retreat, and considerably restricted the battleground, but all of his dust was gone. He could only rely on his strength alone now, and it was dwindling. He saw Ebony darting about, trying to survive team LEEV's onslaught and had to act. He ran up behind Lion Brown who was shotgunning wildly to hit Eb. The ice in front of him melted but he didn't take notice. When Ox rammed him he dropped his weapon into the depths. Lion turned to punch him, but Ox had resubmerged just as quickly, and burst from the hole in the ice that swallowed Lion's gun. When Lion turned back and saw him, Oxford had two ice boulders enveloping his fists. Lion held up his hands in a boxer's stance, Oxford could only barely do the same with the added weight. Ox struck first, hitting hard against Lion's forearm when he blocked. Lion returned with two hooks and an uppercut that knocked Ox off balance and nearly fell him. Gaining confidence he swung again, hitting Ox's jaw for the second time and rewarding him with a shout of pain. He threw a jab out and it hit the adjacent ice boulder, but rather than impact, Lion only felt cold. The boulder had liquefied on contact and refrozen with both hands inside. He panicked and tried to claw his hand free but only succeeded in trapping his other hand. Oxford pulled and his opponent slid across the ice and into the hole. The hole froze over and his ankles were melded into the sheet and were immobilised, then Ox pulled their hands down to the ice and froze the trap to it while letting his own hands free. Quick, clean, and not overly taxing. Oxford moved on to his next opponent, Ember Coal, who would likely take enormously more effort due to her molten hot semblance.  
Meanwhile, Eden Hod of IYCE split off to engage Serenity and avenge the fall of her team leader. She unsheathed her weapon in sprint. It was sharp and pointed on one side like a miner's pick, but blunt on the other end like a sledgehammer. She charged with it held high like a Viking and had Serenity frozen solid, not knowing how to counter. The hammerhead smashed into the side of her crossbow, knocking it from her grip. She hadn't moved quick enough to dodge the backswing of the pick and it caught Serenity's arm, piercing skin enough to trickle blood down her arm. Her aura had taken much already and was reaching dangerously low levels. Eden swung again, and Serenity passed under the swipe to deliver a swift punch to the core. Her hands found their way around the haft of her opponent's Pickhammer and she tried to wrest it from her grip. Deadlocked, both were unable to trump the other's strength. Serenity risked a glance over to Blanc.

Eden had left but Blanc was struggling. He was too slow, too weak, and was no match for the people he was fighting. At least, that was what the people he was fighting believed. Blanc was now in the best possible position and he wasn't going to let his enemies know it until it was too late. The two people he was fighting: Yarok Gold and Clare Crystal, were unstoppable forces of power to be reckoned with, against anyone else. They were fighters reliant on their semblances, things that could not touch Blanc with all the power in the world. Yarok swung his arms down hard before shifting the matter of his flesh to solid metal with a crushing force, and Blanc feigned the pushback and pain that came with it, even though the blow impacted him less than a light push on his shoulder. Clare's crystal copies, all identical, came with shortswords raised to hack and slash Blanc's aura to shreds. He buckled under the barrage of blades, only to hide his laughing face. Enough was enough he decided, and he slowly stood back straight. Clare's jaw dropped slowly as she started to notice that her attacks weren't being acknowledged. Yarok continued with fervor, pounding his metal fists into Blanc's back. He turned and caught a flailing arm, which gave Yarok a moment for a confused pause. Blanc reached out a hand and clasped it around Yarok's face. He transmuted matter and what was on his shoulders became a large, head-shaped diamond. He almost smiled at his own cleverness before Blanc started to squeeze. He yelped as much at the pain than as the sound of diamond cracking, and reset his head to normal to save himself from shattering. As soon as Blanc felt the squishy skin beneath his palm he withdrew his hand and threw a dustered punch into Yarok's face that slid him across the ice and took the remainder of his aura from him. Blanc turned back to Clare and smiled at her and her inability to grasp the situation she was in. She looked up to the arena display that had a live projection of combatants aura levels. Everyone was reaching the thirty percent area, except for Blanc. He had barely a scratch on him, still well into the green. Her crystal clones swiped their swords into Blanc, and they passed through him like phantoms. "Sorry." Blanc said as he looked at her. "If it's any conciliation, I think it's unfair too." All that was heard was a restrained sigh before Blanc's fist collided with her midsection and tossed her.  
Edam Nether was causing problems for Ebony. She was trying to have an honest test of knife throwing skill with Vex and this sickle wielding cretin was getting in her way. "Yes, yes! Let me out! I can do away with that annoyance! I can make him pay for getting in our way!" Ebony's mind clouded with the added activity and a knife hit her shoulder, breaking her stride. "Eb!" Oxford shouted as he ran towards her. A glowing arm grazed him as he jumped back. "I'm not done with you Blueboy!" Ember Coal growled as she advanced towards him. "You think you're so clever with your semblance. Well how clever are ya now?" Ox was raising barriers of ice to shield himself, but they melted in moments against the burning heat projected by Ember's hands. Swipe after swipe she came, and Oxford lost his footing and fell. A last effort to defend himself, he sunk into the ice, encasing himself in it. In this ice capsule he made his way under the ice towards Ebony. He felt cold, a freezing cold that was foreign to him. He lost his power over the water and shouted in agony. The initial feeling of cold was just the first sensation of the searing hot that clasped his ankle. He was pulled from the water and slammed down into the ice before he could soften it. Again, and again he came down with a burning vice holding him from freedom. She swung Oxford down into the ice a final time before letting go. He didn't get up. Ebony saw him fall and shed a tear for his pain. She threw a blade out to her side, catching Edam in the thigh. Another followed up to his calf, disabling his movement. A small curved blade passed in front of her face as she ran up to Edam to finish the immobilisation. A kukri, eastern style, with proficiency in throwing and close quarters combat. A good choice she thought, as she plunged a dagger into Edam's collar to pin him to the ice. Ebony readied a dirk for a pinpoint throw to Vex's hand and another for her leg while Ember came up behind with a blazing fist rearing to punch a hole through her.  
Serenity was trying to free the pickhammer from Eden's grip and was getting nowhere. She risked a look over at Blanc, but he was no longer there. Serenity's confusion made her own resolve falter and she took a face bash from the haft as a result. She was on the ground and had Eden standing over her with the hammer raised, Serenity was just surprised by her decency not to use the pointy end. She accepted her fate and braced for heavy impact, she jumped when she heard the thud of metal hitting. She was startled again when the hammer dropped on her, but with no force other than gravity behind it. She opened her eyes and saw Blanc standing over her with his hand outstretched. As she clasped it the sirens rang out marking the end of the bout. Ember was still in motion when the alarm rang, and had no intention of halting her blow. Her fist connected and she felt the surge that victory brought. Her power trip ended when she saw that her fist hadn't collided with the head of tiny Ebony, but had been caught in the tight grip of a clawed, gray hand. Ivory turned to face her assailant without letting go of her hand. Looking her dead in the eyes with a burning gaze that made Ember's heat seem like a light warm breeze, Ivory spoke. "Fight's over. Cool off!" the last words were said in unison with Ivory using her free hand to push so hard down on her shoulder that the thick ice beneath her crumbled and dropped her in. Ivory walked over to Oxford and checked that he was breathing properly before lifting him up and over into a fireman's lift. "Well it seems that Atlas team IYCE won't be competing in the further rounds and our semifinals will see some colour from all countries this year. I don't know about you ladies and gentlemen, but I for one, cannot wait to see how they fare."  
Team EBON were quick to leave the arena to get Ox to Doctor Bai. Ivory set him down on a bench in their prep room. The bruises on his face were getting more and more prominent by the moment. She finally arrived in the room with her doctor's bag and looked him over. "Was he breathing before?" Ivory nodded. "Yeah I checked before I lifted him. He should diet, he's getting fat." Blanc stared at her. "Can you not be an ass, for like, five seconds?" She was going to come back with a retort but was interrupted by the doctor. "His lung must've collapsed when you carried him here. He's in bad shape." It was the first time any had seen Ivory with any kind of remorse. "Sorry. There was stairs, I wasn't careful." "That's fine, I can treat him. But I need everyone to leave me to it. Go on, you have to decide who among you will move on to the next round, it's not likely Oxford will be fighting again."


End file.
